Battle of Nak Shimor
The Battle of Nak Shimor was a decisive battle fought 7 months into 18 ABY between the Galactic Empire, the New Republic, and the Imperial Loyalists at the Republic fortress world of Nak Shimor. The battle was a major victory for the bruised New Republic, their first decisive victory since the Battle of Todell in 14 ABY. The Republic victory at Nak Shimor ensured the survival of the Republic and provided a much-needed morale boost to the beleaguered Republic forces. Set Up After the Imperial Blitzkrieg concluded in 15 ABY with the conquest of Coruscant, the Republic's frontier defenses fell upon the world of Nak Shimor, situated on the Perlemian trade route near the Imperial fleet base of Corulag. It fell upon Nak Shimor to defend Republic territory against the Imperial war machine; if Nak Shimor fell, a vital access way into Republic territory would be opened, and the Republic would be at risk for complete conquest. Danik Kreldin, the Supreme Commander of the Empire at the time of the Coruscant conquest, initiated a plan to conquer Nak Shimor; this plan was stored in Imperial databases just prior to the Coruscant campaign, and Kreldin desired to enact the plan weeks after taking Coruscant, hoping to catch the Republic off-guard and seize the vital world. However, this plan fell through when Kreldin was lost at the Battle of Coruscant. The Emperor's ascension to the throne a month after Coruscant was taken ensured the survival of the Republic; the Emperor switched the Empire's offensive policies, and Nak Shimor, and the entire Imperial war machine, fell to the wayside, as evidenced by his galactic address to the galaxy. This policy allowed the Republic time to beef up the defenses of Nak Shimor, and to consolidate its losses and develop new models of warships - including the ''Viscount''-class Star Defender. By 18 ABY, Nak Shimor was a major fortress with heavy defenses, including three Golan III battlestations and powerful surface-to-space turbolaser and ion cannons. The Invasion Six months into 18 ABY, Terrinald Screed, the Emperor's Supreme Commander, was ordered by the Emperor to finally finish off Nak Shimor. A massive fleet - the largest assembled in years - was brought together under Screed's command to conquer Nak Shimor. To pave the way, two Executor-class dreadnoughts were brought to bear - Lusankya and the Imperial flagship, Malevolence - and three of the Empire's new, powerful weapons of war: the World Devastators. As a precursor to the battle, an Imperial invasion force led by Lex Sando hit Chazwa near Nak Shimor to divert Republic resources. Less than a week after the Chazwa assault, Screed ordered the invasion: the first wave was minimal, accompanied by three minesweepers which were tasked with clearing a path through the dense Nak Shimor minefield. Republic defenders - under the command of Admiral Ackbar - responded immediately, having been tipped off to the attack through various intelligence sources and the Jedi Order, who had conducted an operation on Imperial Center that dug up intel on the attack. The mine sweepers were protected by a small fleet led by Lex Sando and Sesten Delamont. The minesweepers were destroyed before breaching the minefield, but not before clearing enough of the mines to allow passage. Screed's armada in its entirety arrived moments after and began moving through what was left of the mines. Several warships were lost in the advance, thanks to the remaining mines and fire from the Golan IIIs and Ackbar's fleet, which anxiously awaited on the opposite end of the minefield. Securing a Beachhead Screed's armada advanced into the Republic lines. The battle was met. Large losses were suffered on both sides in the initial fighting - Screed focuses his efforts on first eliminating the Golans. But his efforts were stymied by the arrival of Viscount, the Republic's answer to the Imperial Dreadnoughts. Viscount, under Siren Delamont's command, succeeded in destroying Lusankya - but the efforts did not halt the Imperial advance. The Imperials eliminated the three Golan battlestations and a Stormtrooper assault succeeded in capturing the Nak Shimor shipyards, which helped establish an Imperial beachhead. The fleet moved up and took up positions in orbit over Nak Shimor, while the Republic defenders fell back to lick their wounds and reanalyze their strategy. The World Devastators With success in space, the Empire moved on to the next phase of the operation: seizing the world itself. A large Imperial landing force was sent ahead to take down the power generators which maintained the planetary shield and which powered the powerful surface-to-space weapons. A second assault was made on the capital: the World Devastators, new and terrifying weapons of mass destruction, were sent to do this job. Defending the capital were Jan Dodonna and Carlist Rieekan. A coordinated effort by the Jedi and New Republic Marines succeeded in infiltrating the lead Devastator, Silencer-7 - as the Devastators carved a path of destruction towards the capital, the Marines and the Jedi succeeded in reprogramming Silencer-7's droid brain to turn on its brethren. Silencer-7 destroyed Silencer-6, devouring the sister ship, but was in turn destroyed by Inquisitor-2. The Marines and Jedi escaped the Devastator moments before its destruction; the victory was a major stepping stone in the Republic's effort. The capital saved, the Republic turned its attention on defending the generators at the military fortress. Inquisitor-2, the surviving Devastator, turned away and began climbing towards the atmosphere to escape. The Fortress Assault The Imperial Army, led by General Maximillian Veers, assaulted the Republic fortress; the goal was to destroy the generators to make way for Star Destroyer bombardments and to stop the powerful cannons. The Republic, however, proved more resilient than Veers had anticipated; the assault wavered against the strong defenses of the fortress, and the Imperials were routed, forced to retreat back to their landing zone. The Stormtroopers, however, refused to surrender and advanced ahead to meet Republic forces head-on in the forest. Republic Counter-Attack With the ground assault a failure, Screed began to worry; he would have to wait for reinforcements to arrive from Carida. With the World Devastator fleeing, Screed moved his flagship, Malevolence, in to retrieve it; however, Ackbar refused to let the Devastator escape and ordered the fleet to move in and engage. The space battle resumed, with the Republic concentrating its efforts on destroying the Devastator. Sesten Delamont, however, moved his Star Destroyer in to act as a shield for the Devastator, consuming much of the enemy fire. As this battle raged, a new element arrived in the battle: the Imperial Loyalists under the command of former Grand Admiral Danik Kreldin. Kreldin's fleet of five Star Destroyers, spearheaded by the infamous Tyrant, moved in on the Imperials and, with the Republicans, encircled Screed's armada. With surface-to-space cannons tearing into the Imperial fleet, and with Kreldin's forces now here, Screed realized retreat was their only option. As he began the retreat, Malevolence successfully retrieved the remaining World Devastator, despite heavy damage to it and to Delamont's flag. Under heavy fire, the Imperials began fighting their way out of Nak Shimor, with Delamont remaining behind to retrieve the last-minute stragglers of the Stormtrooper legions. With heavy losses to the fleet, Screed and his armada jumped into hyperspace, returning to Corulag in defeat. Aftermath The battle was a resounding success for the Republc. The defeat ensured the Republic's survival. Word of the victory spread throughout Republic space, boosting morale like never before. Word trickled into Imperial space and to worlds conquered by the Empire, giving hope to its subjects that the Empire may yet be defeated. =Logs= * Hold the Line * The World Devastators * Battle's End Category:Battles